Hyundai Ioniq sets hybrid land speed record

The South Korean car maker set a new FIA-approved land speed record for production based hybrids with a speed of 254km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah with a modified version of its upcoming Ioniq hybrid.

The brand's American Engineering and Quality team went all 2 Fast 2 Furious on its Ioniq, adding a nitrous injection system, customised suspension and a range of aerodynamic modifications to prepare the hybrid for its sprint.

The project came about as Hyundai's American engineers were testing the vehicle and wanted to see how far they could stretch the hybrid's performance.

The production version Ioniq will be offered as a standard hybrid, plug-in hybrid and as an all-electric model when it goes on sale.

The Hyundai Ioniq hit speeds of 254km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Photo: Supplied

Both the Ioniq hybrid and plug-in hybrid will be powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that is good for 77kW and 147Nm. The regular hybrid version also gets a 32kW and 170Nm electric motor that is powered by a 1.56kWh lithium-ion battery with a total system output of 103.6kW and 265Nm, which is available through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Stepping up to the plug-in hybrid gets a larger 45kW electric motor powered by 8.9kWh battery that allows a claimed 50km of pure electric driving.

The car maker's first pure electric model is powered by a 88kW and 295Nm electric motor through a 28kWh battery and is paired with a single-speed reducer transmission, and has a claimed range of 250km.

Hyundai Australia has yet to confirm which variations of the Ioniq it will offer locally, but it is expected to at least offer the conventional hybrid as a direct rival for the Toyota Prius.